Kawai MP10 , MP6

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bweston
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2012/04/29 19:06:28 (permalink)

Kawai MP10 , MP6

I have been a cakewalk user since the ProAudio days and my last purchase was Sonar 4 Producer, so needless to say I have been out of the loop for a good long while. I am getting ready to do a complete upgrade in my studio. 
Though the action was not the absolute best my trusty Roland XV88 finally died. I never used the onboard sounds but simply used it as a controller.

 I have been overwhelmed at the lack of quality and options in midi controllers these days. If you want real DAW control you have to buy a cheap plastic controller in 25-49 and 61 notes which is fine if you never do serious piano work or don't mind work arounds for triggering keyswitches in orchestral libraries. I am really surprized that Roland does not have a serious 88 key similar to the old A90 series, which were way ahead of their time.
 The XV88 was usable for triggering piano samples, but it was a bit more work with the key response to work with Orchestral libraries. Perhaps the only suitable answer is to have a 61 key semi weighted controller and an 88 stage piano for doing the patches. 

 Now I come to the Kawai MP10. I know it is a lot of money for a keyboard in which I will use none of the features other then the keys and the mod and pitch wheels, but feel and build quality mean a lot. However I can not find any reviews from VST studio users or even keyboardist about this instrument. I have found a few posts from people who souly play piano and therefore the subject tends more around how close it is to the feel of a piano (which is very good so I read) Does anyone here have any experience using this as a controller for their VST instruments? I would love to have something that was excellent for piano and orchestral. I look forward to hearing from you and appreciate any input as it is valuable to me. I also am glad to be back as an active member of the cakewalk community and look forward to X1! 
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    tomixornot
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    Re:Kawai MP10 , MP6 2012/04/30 23:42:58 (permalink)

    Welcome to the forum.

    I'm using the Kawai MP8ii as my main X1 midi controller. However, I'm not a true piano player, as I'm more towards keyboard playing and my main instrument is the nylon string guitar. So, I may not offer you the most accurate point of view and especially I don't have the MP10.
    At the time when I got my MP8ii, the main discussion was that it has a lighter (and faster) keyboard action compared to the original MP8, and most original MP8 owners prefer the older action. Since I don't have a real piano keyboard preference, the MP8ii keyboard felt superb for me (compared to my synth keys). I suppose the MP10 new keyboard action is much better now.

    On checking the MP10 spec, this is what I've noticed. Up to the MP8ii, the midi implementation has been the same compared to the lighter MP5 / MP4..

    But for the current MP10, I've read that it's midi implementation is single zone midi control (as compared to 4 zone control of the older MP8 series). On the other hand, the lighter MP6 also has 4 zone control. 

    For sound the MP10 seems only to concentrate on piano/ele.piano sound and it doesn't have other types, but the MP6, just like my MP8ii and the other MP5, have a variety of other kind of sounds (string, brass, organs, bass, etc..).

    So it seems as a midi controller, the MP10 is a little less compared to the MP6 (and older MP8 series).. but I must say that, in my usage all this while, I never touch any other zone, as I mostly do single track record/edit at a time. Perhaps in live situation this will be different, but my MP8ii will never leave the room as it's too heavy.

    The only limitation I see using the MP10 as midi controller (compare to MP6, and older MP series) is during mixing on X1. The MP10 only has one midi fader control, compared to 4x on the MP6 (and older MPs). But this is not an issue if you mix with a mouse, or using another controllers.

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    bweston
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    Re:Kawai MP10 , MP6 2012/05/01 17:16:16 (permalink)
    Excellent, thank you very much for the response tomixornot! That is exactly the kind fo feedback I was looking for.
     Another option I have been considering is buying a Numa Nano and actually removing it from it's casing and building it in to a composers desk. I have seen where people have done similar things with the Doepfer controllers. Doepfer uses Fatar keybeds so I don't know what the difference would be.
     I really like the idea of the MP10 and MP6 but there is no place within 100 miles that even has then for me to check out. It also seems a waste to have all the buttons and sliders dedicated to that hardware and all I would be utilizing are the Pitch/Mod and keyboard itself. But as I said...it is all about the feel and the build quality seems like it will last a good long while. 

    I work similarly as you as far as single tracks at a time and don't need the multiple zones. Do you do any orchestral work? 

    Thank you again! 


    post edited by bweston - 2012/05/01 17:18:31
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    tomixornot
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    Re:Kawai MP10 , MP6 2012/05/01 18:43:05 (permalink)

    Yes, the Kawai build quality is solid. When I ordered mine, I do not have any place to test it either. I made my decision after reading from the Kawai (Germany) forum, via google translate.

    I've not visited the forum lately, I think this is the one. You get latest firmware update from this site as well.

    http://www.kawai.de/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=10

    I do not do orchestral work. I do some arrangement work for brass/woodwind using the Garritan Jazz Band.
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    bweston
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    Re:Kawai MP10 , MP6 2012/05/01 22:11:22 (permalink)
    Awesome, thanks again. I see a Kawai MP10 in my future
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